Toy top

ABSTRACT

A low cost toy top having a simple structure and capable of changing its operating characteristics upon collision with an opponent toy top. The toy top which is spun on a playing board to play a match with an opponent toy top by being collided with the latter includes a main body including collisional portions adapted to come into contact with the opponent toy top, wherein at least some of the collisional portions are provided with a friction member for converting a rotational force of the opponent toy top into a rotational force of the toy top at the time of collision.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a toy top and, more particularly, to a toy top capable of changing rotational characteristics upon contacting an opponent toy top during spinning.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, a toy top capable of changing rotational characteristics upon contacting another toy top without a user's operation has been proposed (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2006-55333). This toy top is so constructed that an upper layer member and a lower layer member are rotatably connected through a mounting base, a shaft portion formed on the lower layer member has a movable shaft piece therewithin so as to move in a vertical direction, and a driving means is provided on the mounting base to vertically move the shaft piece in association with the rotation of the lower layer member. Each time the opponent toy top comes into contact with the lower layer member of the thus constructed toy top, the movable shaft piece moves upward or downward, whereby the rotational characteristic of the toy top changes from that at the time of spinning while being supported by the shaft portion to that at the time of spinning while being supported by the shaft piece and vice versa.

In the proposed toy top, although the rotational characteristics thereof can be changed upon collision with the opponent toy top, it is necessary to construct the toy top so that the lower layer member is rotatable and to incorporate the vertically movable shaft piece inside the shaft portion, leading to problems that the toy top has a complex structure and requires much labor in assembling thereof and thus a high production cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in view of the abovementioned problems. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel toy top with a simple structure which is capable of changing its rotational characteristics upon collision with an opponent toy top and which can be produced at a low cost.

In order to solve the abovementioned problems, according to the present invention, there is provided a toy top which is spun on a playing board to play a match with an opponent toy top by being collided with the latter. The toy top comprises a main body including collisional portions adapted to come into contact with the opponent toy top, wherein at least some of the collisional portions are each provided with a friction member for converting a rotational force of the opponent toy top into a rotational force of the toy top at the time of collision.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the friction member is formed of a resilient rubber material.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the main body comprises an upper layer section having a function of attacking the opponent toy top, a middle layer section determining a height of the toy top, a lower layer section having a shaft portion and fitted on the middle layer section, and a coupling member coupling together the upper layer section and the middle layer section, wherein the collisional portions are disposed in the upper layer section so that the friction members protrude outward therefrom.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the upper layer section includes a first attacking member and a second attacking member, the first attacking member has an outer diameter smaller than that of the second attacking member and is fitted on the second attacking member from above, the first attacking member has attacking portions formed on an outer periphery of an upper surface thereof so as to attack the opponent toy top from below, and the friction members are attached to the outer periphery of the upper surface of the first attacking member to protrude upward and laterally outward.

According to the present invention, when the toy top comes into contact with the opponent toy top, the rotational force of the opponent toy top can be converted into a rotational force of the toy top of the invention through the friction member, so that the toy top can restore the rotational force, which has been lessened, by means of the collision with the opponent toy top. Thus, the toy top can change the operation mode with such a simple structure in which the friction members are attached thereto.

In one embodiment of the present invention, as the friction members are formed of a resilient rubber material, the friction members can absorb a collision impact to reduce damage to the toy top at the time of the collision with the opponent toy top and positively convert the rotational force of the opponent toy top into the rotational force of the toy top of the invention by friction of the friction members.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A and 1B are a perspective view and a front view illustrating an embodiment of a toy top according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the toy top shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B;

FIGS. 3A to 3D are a perspective view, a plan view, a front view and a bottom view showing a first attacking member of an upper layer section constituting the toy top, respectively;

FIGS. 4A to 4D are a perspective view, a plan view, a front view and a bottom view showing a second attacking member of the upper layer section constituting the toy top, respectively;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are a perspective view and a front view, showing a middle layer section constituting the toy top, respectively;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are a perspective view as viewed from below and a bottom view, illustrating a lower layer section constituting the toy top, respectively;

FIGS. 7A to 7D are front views illustrating the process of assembling the toy top; and

FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams depicting an operating mode of the toy top of the present invention along with a normal toy top on a playing board.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIGS. 1A and 1B show an embodiment of a toy top according to the present invention. The toy top A is constituted by a main body that includes an upper layer section 1 which has a function of attacking an opponent toy top and which is constituted by a first attacking member 10 and a second attacking member 20, a middle layer section 2 determining the height of the toy top, a lower layer section 3 having a shaft portion 41 adapted to come into contact with a surface of a playing board, and a coupling member 4 in a screw shape coupling together the upper layer section 1 and middle layer section 2 (see FIG. 2).

The first attacking member 10 is, as shown in FIGS. 3A to 3D, a disk-like member made of synthetic resin and having a fitting hole portion 11 formed in the center thereof in which a fitting portion 22 of the second attacking member 20 described later is fitted. On diametrically opposite sides of the fitting hole portion 11 is formed a pair of engagement recesses 11 a for engaging a bridge 22 a to perform positioning when the fitting hole portion 11 is fitted on the fitting portion 22 of the second attacking member 20. Further, the first attacking member 10 is formed to have an outer diameter smaller than that of the second attacking member 20, and around a peripheral edge of an upper surface of the first attacking member 10 are formed attacking portions 12 constituted by inclined surfaces with a vertical attacking function of attacking from below in contact with a lower surface of the opponent toy top. The first attacking member 10 is provided on the upper and side surfaces thereof with a plurality of friction members 13, some of which protrude upward and the rest of which protrude laterally outward. The friction members 13 are formed of a rubber material which is resilient so that when the toy top A comes into contact with an opponent toy top, ,the friction members 13 may convert a rotational force of the opponent toy top into a rotational force of the toy top A and absorb an impact of collision to reduce the damage to the toy top A. Thus, the first attacking member 10 is provided on the upper and side surfaces thereof with collisional portions, some of which have the friction members 13 attached thereto and some others of which do not have friction members thereon.

The first attacking member 10 is also provided on a lower surface thereof with a pair of semi-circular engagement walls 14 which are symmetrically formed at the outside of the fitting hole portion 11 so as to fit in an inner peripheral surface of the second attacking member 20, to thereby stably hold the first attacking member 10 on the second attacking member 20.

The second attacking member 20 is, as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4D, a metallic disk-like member having a hexagonal fitting hole portion 21 formed in the center thereof in which an upper portion of the middle layer section 2 described later is fitted, the fitting portion 22 being formed above the fitting hole portion 21. The fitting portion 22 includes the bridge 22 a formed in a diametrical direction and a swelling portion 22 b formed in a circular shape in the center of the bridge 22 a to bulge out, and an opening 23 into which a screw portion 4 a of the coupling member 4 is inserted is formed in the center of the swelling portion 22 b. Further, attacking portions 24 constituted by rugged parts protruding outward with a lateral attacking function of attacking in contact with a side surface of the opponent toy top are formed in an outward-projecting manner on an outer peripheral surface of the second attacking member 20.

The middle layer section 2 is, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, formed in a cylindrical shape and has an inner wall surface formed with a thread 31 to configure a screw hole 32 into which the screw portion 4 a of the coupling member 4 described later is screwed. Further, an upper outer perimeter surface of the middle layer section 2 swells outward to form a swelling portion 33 of an approximately hexagonal shape, which is fitted in the fitting hole portion 21 of the second attacking member 20 to prevent a deviation in a circumferential direction from occurring at the time of joining together the upper layer section 1 and the middle layer section 2. The middle layer section 2 is also provided on a lower end outside surface of a cylindrical portion 34 thereof with a pair of engaging protrusions 36 that are formed so as to respectively engage with a pair of engagement receiving portions 43 formed on the lower layer section 3 described later.

The lower layer section 3 is, as shown in FIG. 6A, formed in an inverted truncated-cone shape and has a shaft portion 41 that is formed on a lower side thereof so as to protrude downward. A pair of arcuate openings 42 is formed point-symmetrically with respect to an axis of the shaft portion 41 outside the shaft portion 41, and part of an inner wall of each of the openings 42 is protruded toward the shaft portion 41 to form the engagement receiving portion 43. Thus, when the lower layer section 3 is fitted from below onto the middle layer section 2 and is then turned in a circumferential direction, the engaging protrusions 36 of the middle layer section 2 engage the respective engagement receiving portions 43 of the lower layer section 3, so that the lower layer section 3 can be fixed on the middle layer section 2.

When the toy top A having the above-described configuration is assembled, the first and second attacking members 10 and 20 for the upper layer section 1, the middle layer section 2 and the lower layer section are firstly selected as shown in FIG. 7A. Thereafter, the first attacking member 10 is fitted onto the second attacking member 20 from above, and then the swelling portion 33 of the middle layer section 2 is fitted into the fitting hole portion 21 of the second attacking member 20 from below as shown in FIG. 7B.

Next, the screw portion 4 a of the coupling member 4 is inserted through the opening 23 of the second attacking member 20 and is screwed into the screw hole 32 of the middle layer section 2, so that the upper layer section 1 with the first attacking member 10 stacked on the second attacking member 20 is fixed on the middle layer section 2 as shown in FIG. 7C. In this state, the upper layer section 1 is brought into pressure contact with the middle layer section 2 by the coupling member 4, so that the upper layer section 1 and the middle layer section 2 are fixed to each other without causing backlash.

Then, the engaging protrusions 36 formed on the cylindrical portion 34 of the middle layer section 2 are opposed to and inserted into the openings 42 of the lower layer section 3, and the lower layer section 3 is turned in a circumferential direction relative to the middle layer section 2 to engage the engaging protrusions 36 with the bottom sides of the engagement receiving portions 43, whereby the toy top A constituted by the upper layer section 1, the middle layer section 2 and the lower layer section 3 can be assembled, as shown in FIG. 7D.

The toy top A thus assembled is launched by a known starter (not shown) so as to rotate or spin at a high speed onto a playing surface b of a playing board B (see FIG. 10A). The toy top A spins at a high speed at first and its rotational speed is gradually reduced with time, while the opponent toy top A′ still spins at a higher speed than that of the toy top A. At this time, if the toy top A collides with the opponent toy top A′ spinning at the high speed, the toy top A can absorb an impact of collision through the elasticity of the friction member 13 to reduce damage thereto and enhance its spinning state by converting a rotational force of the opponent toy top A′ into its own rotational force through means of the frictional force generated between the friction member 13 and a contact surface of the opponent toy top A′ without any slippage occurring therebetween, resulting in that the toy top A can avoid at least stopping of its spinning earlier than that of the opponent toy top A′.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, the toy top A with such a simple structure in which merely the friction members 13 are provided on part or the whole of the peripheral surface or upper surface of the upper layer section 1 thereof can not only dodge the attack of the opponent toy top A′ but also convert the rotational force of the opponent toy top A′ into its own rotational force. Thus, a toy top capable of changing its operating characteristics without the use of a complex structure can be realized.

Incidentally, since the toy top A described above is provided on part of the upper layer section 1 thereof with the friction members 13, when the other part of the upper layer section 1 thereof that has no friction member thereon comes into contact with the opponent toy top A′, the toy top A can do damage to the opponent toy top A′ or may be instead attacked by the opponent toy top A′ as in a match played with the conventional toy tops, so that a match played with toy tops which progresses in a variety of patterns can be enjoyed. 

1. A toy top which is spun on a playing board to play a match with an opponent toy top by being collided with the latter, comprising: a main body including collisional portions adapted to come into contact with the opponent toy top, wherein at least some of the collisional portions are each provided with a friction member for converting a rotational force of the opponent toy top into a rotational force of the toy top at the time of collision.
 2. The toy top according to claim 1, wherein the friction member is formed of a resilient rubber material.
 3. The toy top according to claim 1, wherein the main body comprises an upper layer section having a function of attacking the opponent toy top, a middle layer section determining a height of the toy top, a lower layer section having a shaft portion and fitted on the middle layer section, and a coupling member coupling together the upper layer section and the middle layer section, and wherein the collisional portions are disposed in the upper layer section so that the friction members protrude outward therefrom.
 4. The toy top according to claim 2, wherein the main body comprises an upper layer section having a function of attacking the opponent toy top, a middle layer section determining a height of the toy top, a lower layer section having a shaft portion and fitted on the middle layer section, and a coupling member coupling together the upper layer section and the middle layer section, and wherein the collisional portions are disposed in the upper layer section so that the friction members protrude outward therefrom.
 5. The toy top according to claim 3, wherein the upper layer section includes a first attacking member and a second attacking member, the first attacking member has an outer diameter smaller than that of the second attacking member and is fitted on the second attacking member from above, the first attacking member has attacking portions formed on an outer periphery of an upper surface thereof so as to attack the opponent toy top from below, and the friction members are attached to the outer periphery of the upper surface of the first attacking member to protrude upward and laterally outward.
 6. The toy top according to claim 4, wherein the upper layer section includes a first attacking member and a second attacking member, the first attacking member has an outer diameter smaller than that of the second attacking member and is fitted on the second attacking member from above, the first attacking member has attacking portions formed on an outer periphery of an upper surface thereof so as to attack the opponent toy top from below, and the friction members are attached to the outer periphery of the upper surface of the first attacking member to protrude upward and laterally outward.
 7. A toy top to collide with an opponent toy top, comprising: a main body including at least one high friction member on an upper surface thereof for converting a rotational force of the opponent toy top into a rotational force of the toy top at the time of collision.
 8. The toy top according to claim 7, wherein the at least one friction member is formed of rubber.
 9. The toy top according to claim 7, wherein the main body comprises an upper layer section for attacking the opponent toy top, and wherein the at least one friction member is disposed on the upper layer section so that the at least one friction member protrudes outward from the upper layer section.
 10. The toy top according to claim 9, wherein the upper layer section includes a first attacking member and a second attacking member, the first attacking member has an outer diameter smaller than that of the second attacking member and is fitted on the second attacking member from above, and the at least one friction member is attached to the outer periphery of the upper surface of the first attacking member to protrude upward and laterally outward.
 11. A toy top, comprising: a main body made of a material with a first coefficient of friction, and including at least one friction member on an outer periphery thereof, the at least one friction member having a second significantly higher coefficient of friction for converting a rotational force of a colliding opponent toy top into a rotational force of the toy top.
 12. The toy top according to claim 11, wherein the at least one friction member is rubber.
 13. The toy top according to claim 11, wherein the main body comprises an upper layer section for attacking the opponent toy top, and wherein the at least one friction member is disposed on the upper layer section so that the member protrudes outward from the upper layer section.
 14. The toy top according to claim 13, wherein the upper layer section includes a first attacking member and a second attacking member, the first attacking member has an outer diameter smaller than that of the second attacking member and is fitted on the second attacking member and wherein the at least one friction member is attached to an outer periphery of the upper surface of the first attacking member to protrude upward and laterally outward. 